I think the track record its written in stone and that Renney and others cant point to Renney being in his first year since he is not ignorant from Brule’s pivot ability of last season.

So the obvious answer since lines were announced is that the Oilers are either giving in to Lowe trying to put Cogs in any possible position to get him going and prove he wont be a KHLer in 2 years, or he is being shopped as a centre with fingers crossed that he gets a hot streak.

I WAS a cogs fan at one time (shakes head) but he’s kind of a dummy. He tries to play physical but cant win a battle, and even if he innitiates contact he 90% loses the battle, takes the worst of it, and is then out of position and making us look like easy laughable prey. The goal of the organization should be to have players like the rookies. The rookies, including Hall, are being harped on. I see no reason at all to harp on any of them. They are all fighting for posession, winning battles, giving second and 3rd efforts, hard to knock off pucks, initiating contact, all have contributed time to pk, all have speed and hands, all are learning.

The market does not hold much value for a centre who cant win a draw, a forward who normally kills the play, cant win a battle, is out of position after being shrugged off, cant make his linemates better -and likely holds them back-, and is likely the worst player on a team which plays 3 rookie forwards… one of which being barely 18.

Nough said on that.

Our only trade asset right now is our cap space and lack of budget constraints to spend to it. Fortunately time has proven this to be the most valuable asset in player aquisition and also an asset that increases its value as the year progresses.

POSITIVES

Hemsky, as i said earlier, looks amazing. I cant knock the guy anymore. He is showing me everything i wanted to see from him. I dont give a crap about the stats; his play will dictate the stats HE DESERVES. Right now he is playing a beautiful full game and i am … astonished.

If Hemsky and Penner can keep playing the full games that they are… i have no problems with Tambi throwing both of them 4-5 year extensions next season. Alot of people would have their jaws hit the floor on the Hemsky comments coming from me (not the Penner since ive always liked him) but alas i admit i am seeing a new hemsky this season and if its a longterm change and not an a short term aberration than he is going to be a key component in this teams future beyond his current contract.

Just want to say as well that Reddox is quickly becoming a coach and fan fave in OKC. The OKC message boards are going crazy with love for him. I have to tip my hat to the OKC fans as, from their posts, they are proving to be quite intelligent on the sport and arent jumping on the band wagon of snipers like Giroux. Giroux got first star against the aeros and has put up the points but the fans are speaking that they clearly are not ignorant to the fact he is a opportunistic floater who doesnt have much more to offer. Reddox is definently getting lots of respect for his effort, tenacity, desire, and …playmaking.

Racki: I’ll be honest, I’ve been 50/50 on Fraser. I’ve always been a big Cogliano fan, but I’m not sure how long I can watch him struggle at center.
I hate to put it this way, but I thought about how we went from Reasoner to Brodziak (which I can handle) to Pouliot to Fraser. Really, I think the Oil blew it letting Brodziak go. Not an allstar or anything, but the guy can win draws, has size to keep from getting bowled over, and he can put up the odd point. He makes $1.15M in Minny… didn’t really need to pinch pennies there.
I think if I were looking down the lineup, I’d say we need to still worry about the bottom six. I’ll give Fraser a chance though, as it’s still early in his Oil career. He could pan out OK. SO far I’ve seen him make a few good shot blocks on the PK. And I’m not really one to stat-watch, but it’s hard not to notice that every SH goal against him and Jones have been on the ice. We got Fraser to be a PK specialist, so he has to be good at that.
But, it’s oversimplifying to just point out that stat.. so I think I’ll pay pretty close attention to him and get a better judge. I’ve said it all the long though.. why do the Oil pinch pennies with role players? They’ll throw out an extra few mill for a few more goals, but they can’t pay a couple hundred K for a good role guy.BTW, I do think we have decent guys in the system for this.. VV, and maybe O’Marra… but it wouldn’t kill the team to make hockey watchable by hiring some good role guys while they’re down in the farm.

They really need to take Cogs off Centre before fanzillas start calling for blood. Although he has struggled, I still believe in Cogs – as a winger.

I was also really impressed with VdV and would like to see him play more.

On Brodziak, I always forget we got the pick for Roy out of that… I think that actually is a pretty good trade, all things considered, even though a 4th (?) doesn’t seem like much. I also believe that Minny wasn’t interested in Pouliot.. were they? But really, I wish we could have hung onto Brodz. Was a big fan of his, and he had some good chemistry with Stortini.

On Fraser, yes, that’s exactly the issue there. He’s not all that big of a player, and really, this team was trying to get bigger… and there WERE big UFA guys out there. I really don’t get that. Not to knock Fraser.. I think he might be OK, and it’s way too soon to write him off (so I’m not doing that).

As for JFJ, damn I’m anxious for him to be back… I think if he slips into injury purgatory for much longer though, they’re going to have to cut ties with him and just go find a replacement player that can bring that level of energy.

Cogs is now clearly not the player we need on this team. He’s a good player, but he’s likely best suited as a depth player on a veteran team on the wing.

I’ve been pulling for him too, but it’s painfully obvious that he’s not going to succeed as a defenssive specialist that wins draws. It’s just not there. On the O’Marra VV note, I completely agree. I thought both had good camps and played better than Fraser, who’d been decent, but let’s face it, he’s not big and he’s not overwhelming on the draw (yet). I like him but he and Horc need help and I think VV or O’Marra are the guys who fit the bill.

I have to think the leash on Cogs is short and he’ll be traded soon if he doesn’t do what management wanted out of him. Perhaps they’ll be patient, but I think the writing is on the wall here. Even for the energy winger role that he would occupy, I’d rather play Reddox and JFJ when he gets back.

Also, they don’t help themselves by keeping three goalies up here. Just send down DD and get it over with. We need that roster spot. Tambellini is hamstringing Renney with that shit. Enough already.